Hate Music - 3 Kenyans face charges

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Date Posted : Monday, 09 Jul 2012

Three Kenyan musicians have been charged with inciting ethnic hatred through their songs. The charges have been brought by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), set up after the post-election violence in 2008.

In late December, 2010, Joshua arap Sang, a presenter on the Kalenjin-language radio station, Kass FM, was charged by the ICC. “The Prosecution considers that he was one of the principal planners and organizers of crimes against PNU supporters”, read the charge. The summary of the applications indicated that “Sang helped coordinate the attacks using coded language disseminated through radio broadcasts”.
Now, the three musicians are facing hate speech charges. If found guilty, the musicians, who have been released on bail, may face a three-year jail term.

Internews Project Director for Democracy & Governance journalism training says in the analysis of hate speech, various factors need to be examined: the power of the speaker, the susceptibility of the audience, and the actual content of the lyrics.

Internews Radio Trainer – Lands and conflict sensitive journalism Julius Kibet says, the trend is worrying and that music producers should be provided with a code of ethics.

A BBC World Service report asked: how far can musicians go in the political support of its candidates?

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/africa/africa_20120704-1710a.mp3

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/africa